Cincinnati vs. Baltimore: Bengals' Week 1 Game Preview
A franchise on the hunt to take the proverbial next step, the Cincinnati Bengals begin the 2014 season in Baltimore against the Ravens, a formula that has personified the team's growing pains over the course of the past few years.
The AFC North affair is both a gift and a curse for the Bengals. Cincinnati has lost four consecutive games in Baltimore, a meetup that over the years has acted as a measuring stick for the franchise that calls the Queen City home—the Ravens lead the series 13-5 at M&T Bank Stadium.
''It's a great opportunity for us to have another growing step,'' left tackle Andrew Whitworth said, per The Associated Press (via Fox Sports). ''We've talked about it over the years. We've had this little step here or that little step there where this team's continued to improve. But we haven't won in Baltimore."
A good way to signify the franchise will compete for a division title and postseason berth once again, not to mention actually be competitive when the postseason rolls around, is to get over the hump in an annual contest that has given the current crop of players fits.
While the length of the NFL season sometimes nullifies a Week 1 result in the grand scheme of things, that line of thinking does not apply to a Bengals team with everything to prove despite this current stretch being the most successful in team history.
Sunday will speak volumes to the state of the franchise. Let's take a look at the critical info surrounding the showdown.
Bengals Preseason Week 4 Recap
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The Cincinnati Bengals rattled off two wins to close the 2014 preseason at .500, the finale a 35-7 shellacking of the Indianapolis Colts.
Not that the end results matter, of course.
What matters is that the team continued to mesh each step of the way. Last week's result showed that rookie back Jeremy Hill is ready to act as the primary complement to Giovani Bernard, as he rushed 20 times for 90 yards and grabbed all six of his targets in the passing game for an additional 70 yards.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the team saw fit to let go of veteran back BenJarvus Green-Ellis en route to the final 53-man roster.
Speaking of cuts, there wound up being very little in the way of surprises, which is nothing but a good thing, as continuity often breeds success in the NFL. This is a rather important takeaway for a team that lost coordinators on both sides of the football this past offseason.
Of other note from the win against Indianapolis was the continued ups and downs of rookie center Russell Bodine and the downright dominant play of defensive end Margus Hunt, albeit against mostly backups. Both will play a major role in determining the outcome of the game in Baltimore this week.
News and Notes
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Hue Jackson Set to Unveil "Bengals Coast" Offense
With Jay Gruden now in Washington, offensive coordinator Hue Jackson seemed to squeeze the absolute most out of quarterback Andy Dalton this preseason thanks to a barrage of fast-paced, sometimes no-huddle attacks.
Jackson says the focus is on a turnover-free approach that has worked for him in the past with Bengals units. As Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com explains, the somewhat new offense fans will see Sunday in Baltimore is a hybrid that mashes several points of Jackson's career into a neat package:
"Jackson has preached to Dalton about Marty Ball and not turning it over. He has emphasized the ‘9’ route, the go ball that Jackson hammered with Houshmandzadeh, Chad Johnson and Chris Henry a decade ago with the Bengals. In practice he’s gone no huddle like Peyton Manning’s Broncos. He’s working out of Gruden’s West Coast playbook that is now splattered with the rest of his resume.
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Jackson himself has a name for the approach.
“You got to do a little bit of whatever it takes to win,” Jackson says. “Whether it is West Coast, East Coast, Side Coast, North Coast, Whatever Coast. We’ll be whatever coast you need us to be to win games. It will be Bengal Coast. That’s what it is going to be.”
Few better ways exist to churn out a new offense than against a perennially stout Baltimore defense. It's fitting for a contest that will showcase very clearly where the franchise is at in its development.
Andre Smith's Status a Concern
Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Andre Smith has had a tumultuous preseason riddled by injury, and it is a batch of negative momentum that seems to be set to carry over to the regular season.
Smith, a key cog in the offensive trenches, was the No. 19 overall tackle in the NFL last season at Pro Football Focus (subscription required) and a primary reason the ground game has been so effective the past few seasons.
As Jay Morrison of the Cox Media Group captures, though, Smith's status is still up in the air thanks to a concussion:
"#Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis on RT Andre Smith (concussio): “We don’t know what to expect from Andre until Sunday."
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonCMG) September 3, 2014"
Smith did practice Wednesday, but even if he is a go come Sunday, he becomes a critical player to watch as his ability while perhaps not at 100 percent may cause issues for the offense as a whole.
Ravens not Worried About A.J. Green?
A.J. Green has a habit of running roughshod on the Baltimore secondary, so it is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser to hear one of the members of that unit is not all that concerned about going toe-to-toe with the Bengals star.
The culprit is safety Darian Stewart, as ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley records:
"I don't consider it a challenge. He's just one guy," Stewart said. "We have to make plays when it comes to us and just be aware of where he's going to be at all times."
The man tasked with replacing James Ihedigbo may not have wanted to give Green a little motivation—in five games against Baltimore, he has caught 21 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns.
Look, it is just one player doing the talking on this occasion, but it's a pretty ill-advised comment that the Bengals can run with to use as motivation. As if Green and Co. needed any help in that department.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Vontaze Burfict | LB | Probable |
| Darqueze Dennard | CB | Questionable |
| Tyler Eifert | TE | Probable |
| Marvin Jones | WR | Out |
*All injury reports are from ESPN.com. Will be updated when official report is released.
Not too many surprises here. Vontaze Burfict seems to be a regular on the injury report, but after an absence last week in the preseason finale, it is safe to presume he will be good to go.
Tight end Tyler Eifert has been active at practice and, per ESPN, says, "I'm good, I'm 100 percent. I spent the last couple of weeks rehabbing and I feel good."
Expect the team to move Darqueze Dennard along slowly, especially with so much quality depth in front of him. While expected, the loss of Marvin Jones hurts, although Mohamed Sanu's stellar play this preseason softens the blow.
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X-Factors and Matchups to Watch
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Bengals LBs vs. Bernard Pierce
With the aforementioned note that Vontaze Burfict is on his way back from another minor injury issue, it becomes more important than ever that the Cincinnati Bengals linebackers around him play at a high level.
While Baltimore's Ray Rice will miss the contest, backup and third-year player Bernard Pierce is a formidable presence who has done well in his brief flirtations with serious usage. Even ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley admits that Pierce might play his way into a much bigger role if the Cincinnati linebackers are not up to task.
"If Pierce is productive in the first two games, the Ravens then would have a difficult decision between sticking with a hot hand or giving the job back to Rice. If Pierce doesn't make a major impact, he may play out the final two years of his deal as a backup."
If Rey Maualuga, Emmanuel Lamur and a host of others overpursue or miss tackles, it will eventually open things up for the Ravens' aerial attack. Obviously, that makes life all the more difficult on the road.
Mohamed Sanu vs. Baltimore Secondary
With Marvin Jones out of the picture for the foreseeable future, Mohamed Sanu is more important than ever.
As noted previously, Sanu looked great in the preseason, making several chain-moving grabs over the middle. Through the first three exhibition games, Sanu caught seven passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and revealed himself as a reliable target on third downs.
Many will point to the Cincinnati tight ends as the critical pieces that must step up in Jones' absence, but Sanu has the obvious talent to become the direct No. 2 behind A.J. Green. To do so, though, he will have to take advantage of coverage thrown at Green and beat out corners such as the rapidly improving Jimmy Smith.
Another chain-moving presence such as Sanu will work wonders for Cincinnati, to say the least.
Bengals X-Factor of the Week: Russell Bodine
Until rookie center Russell Bodine sees a major uptick in quality of play, he will continue to be the focal point on what is a very talented roster.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Bodine ranked as the No. 71 overall center in the NFL over the course of the entire preseason, with his only positive mark coming in the pass-blocking category.
In other words, the Bengals may have a serious issue right smack in the middle of the line when they attempt to employ coordinator Hue Jackson's run-first approach—especially with elite tackle Haloti Ngata in the way.
Bodine is aware of the task that lies in front of him, as noted by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
"(Ngata is) a big strong guy. He’s kind of crafty. He’s good at reacting to blocks and countering off stuff. It’s all about me. I have to go out there and handle my technique and my responsibilities and my calls. If you do that, it will be what it will be and hopefully we’ll come out on the right end of it.
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If Bodine succumbs to the pressure, the running game will be unable to consistently produce and, even worse, as fans have seen in the past, Andy Dalton may get uncomfortable in the pocket and make mistakes.
It's a lot to put on a rookie, but the coaching staff seems to believe he has what it takes. Sunday's game will decide that.
Prediction
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The good news for the Cincinnati Bengals is that perceived depth issues along the defensive line seemed to sort themselves out as the preseason wore on toward its conclusion.
With the trio of ends in Carlos Dunlap, Margus Hunt and Wallace Gilberry providing a relentless rush and the presence of Geno Atkins back in the middle, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco should be flustered all day.
The lack of Ray Rice throws a wrench in things as well, as the Bengals can focus more on the duo of Torrey Smith and Steve Smith, with underrated tight end Dennis Pitta being the main threat through the air.
Above all else, though, is the play of quarterback Andy Dalton over the course of the preseason. They were meaningless contests and vanilla schemes, yes, but Cincinnati's signal-caller looked calm and collected, even in deteriorating pockets—surely a sight for sore eyes.
If Dalton has taken the next step in that area, the team will as well. Baltimore has a stellar defense yet again, but the team can ride the duo of Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill out of the backfield while Dalton can pick and choose his spots.
Expect the supreme balance of the Cincinnati roster to pull through Sunday. History and trends are meant to be conquered, after all.
Prediction: Bengals 24, Ravens 17
Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com.
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